Trawling as a major threat to Mediterranean maerl beds

Abstract

European project MAST III 095-0020 studied the characteristics of Europeanof European maerl beds and the effects of human activities upon them. In the Mediterranean, trawling appeared as the major impact on these habitats. In this study we compare the characteristics of maerl beds from a fished and an unfished site from 2 localities, Alicante (SE Iberian Peninsula) and Malta (central Medilerranean). We conclude that recurrent trawling affects negatively the maerl ecosystem by decreasing the size and cover of the component calcareous algae and increasing the relative proportion of fines thus diminishing mean sediment grain size.